Elmore Smith

Jim McMillian, who helped the Los Angeles Lakers to a 33-game winning streak and the 1972 NBA championship as a second-year pro playing with Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West, has died. He was 68.

He died Monday from complications of heart failure at a hospital in Winston-Salem, N.C., after being in failing health in recent months, according to his sister-in-law Denise Sheridan.

The Lakers made McMillian the 13th overall pick in the first round of the 1970 draft out of Columbia University. He was also drafted in the first round by the New York Nets of the ABA, but chose the Lakers. He averaged 15.3 points during three seasons in Los Angeles.

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Jim McMillian, who helped the Los Angeles Lakers to a 33-game winning streak and the 1972 NBA championship as a second-year pro playing with Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West, has died. He was 68.
He died Monday from complications of heart failure at a...